Wheeled gun-carriage with wide scope of fire for field-artillery.



E. RIMAILHO. WHEELED GUN CARRIAGE WITH wma SCOPE OF FIRE FOR FIELD ARTILLERY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 1917- lutcntod Nov. 19, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEEI llNVEf/mR Wil/zo M ATTORNEYS E. RIMAILHO. WHEELED GUN CARRIAGE WITH WIDE SCOPE OF FIRE FOR FIELD ARTILLERY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26,191]- Y Patented MY. 19, 1918.

IN VE/V TOR ATTORNEYS E. RiMAiLHO.

WHEELED GUN CARRIAGE WITH WIDE SCOPE OF HRE FOR FIELD ARTILLERY.

Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3- APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 1917.

IN VEN TOR limz'le Rimaz'llzo E. RIMAILHO.

WHEELED GUN CARRIAGE WITH WIDE SCOPE OF FIRE FOR FIELD ARTILLERY.

AFPLICATIQN- FILED MAY 26, I91]- 1 ,285,390. Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

llllllll lmmugn IN VE NTOR Emzle Ramailig fjaaA A T TORNEY E. BIMAILHO.

WHEELED GUN CARRIAGE WITH WIDE SCOPE OF FIRE FOR FIELD ARTILLERY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. en.

1,285,390. Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

5 S HEETS-SHEET 5- IN l/E N TOR TE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMILE RIMAILHO, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO COMPAGNIE DES FORGES E'l ACIERIES DE LA MARINE ET DI-IOMECOURT, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

WHEELED GUN-CABRIAGE WITH WIDE SCOPE OF FIRE FOR FIELD-ARTILLERY;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

Original application filed June 17, 1914, Serial No. 845,578. Divided and this application filed May 26, 1917.

I Serial No. 171,207.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMILE RIMAILHO, a citizen of the French Republic, and residing in Paris, France, 98 Rue de la Victoire, consulting engineer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Wheeled Gun-Carriages with Wide Scope of Fire for Field-Artillery, of which the following is a complete specification.

In those gun carriages which at the moment of firing are in contact with the ground at four points, the latter points arerepresented on the one hand by the lower part of each of the wheels (hereinafter called the axlewheel system) and on the other hand by the ends of two trails (hereinafter called the trail system), special arrangement having to be made to impart to the gun carriage with a view to road service, the usual disposition of a carriage with single central block trail, short in order to facilitate the turning of the vehicle and nevertheless long enough to insure the stability of the carriage when firing is carried on without the trails having been placed right and left of the central line of the gun carriage.

The object of the present invention 1s the construction of a gun carriage in which the above purposes are secured by providing the front part of the trail system with extensions, lengthening out either by sliding or by double jointing on the said front part.

On the drawin s annexed Figure 1 is a plan of the gun carriage according to a first working construction with arrangement for folding the trail of the carriage, these trails being opened for fir ng,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l with the trails in closed position for road transit,

Figs. 3 and l respectively show an elevation and longitudinal section of atra l,

Figs. 5 and 6 represent the apphcation of the folding trails to gun carriages.

Fig. 7 is a general plan of the axle and the trails of another working construction, the trails being in open position for firlng, I

Fig. 8 is a general plan with part section of the axle and the trails, the latter being in closed position for road travel and hooked to a forecarriage,

Figs. 9 and 10 show a side elevation and a longitudinal section respectively of a trail,

Fig. 11 is a rear end view representing one of the trails in closed position for road travel, the other trail being in an open position for firing,

Fig. 12 is a rear end view representing the trail system in one of the extreme positions of transverse direction relatively to the axle.

As the gun carriage which we are considering must, with a view to road service, exhibit the usual arrangement of a carriage with single central trail, these trails have been designed according to the arrangement shown on Figs. 1 to 4: in the first working construction. The male part 1 of a ball and socket joint, which engages in a lodgment in the axle, is fixedly connected with the front part 22 of the trail system. This front part expands in horse-shoe form, carrying two branches 23 cut away so as to form lodgments, in which the trails proper 6 and 7 can slide.

Each of the sliding carriage trails is guided in the corresponding branch 23 of the horse-shoe part 22 by lateral walls 24: and 25 of this branch which determine the direction of the corresponding trail for the road and firing positions respectively. In the firing position I (Fig. 1) a centering pin 27 of the trail occupies the middle of a guide groove 28 cut in the branch 23, so that the trail can undergo a pivotalniovement about this pin 27. In the firing position the trail is rigidly connected with the branch 23 by a rotating bolt 35 which engages into its end suitably notched for that purpose.

In order to pass from the firing position tothe road position the connection eflected by the bolt 35 is first done away with, then the trail is made to pivot around the pin 27 until a rib 29 of this trail is brought into the prolongation of the groove 28, this position II (Fig. 1) being defined by a stop 30 carried by the branch 23. The trail is then made to slide until alapping stop 31 of the trail comes to bear on the end of the branch 23 (position III). At this moment a second centering pin 26 is in the middle of the groove 28. The trail is then made to pivot about this pin as a center bringing into engagement a'dove-tail recess 32 of the trail, (position IV) on a projection 33 of the axle. For the road position each trail is thus hooked to the axle, so that this part directly bears the traction strains during transit.

When the trails occupy position IV on Fig. 1, their butts come into contact on the longitudinal'axis'of the carriage (Fig. 2) and they can be bolted together by any suitable device and the usual trail ring can be hooked to the wagon as in the case of an ordinary carriage (Fig. 2). a

To lengthen out the trails and bring them from the road position (Fig. 2) into the firing position (Fig. 1) the operations are carried out inversely.

Figs. 1 to 4; represent the folding arrangement of the trails adapted for the case when the male part of the ball and socket 1 joint of the gun carriage is carried by the trail system. Figs. 5 and 6 represent the same folding arrangement of the trails adapted for the case when the male part of the ball and socket joint is carried by the axle-wheel system.

In the second working construction of carriage, in order to insure the guidance of the trails during the operations of folding and unfolding, suitably inclined guide shoes 72 (Figs. 7 and 8) are placedon the axle, the side face 73 of each of them forming a guide for the corresponding half-trail in the road position as shown on the left in Fig. 11.

Each of the half-trails 74: is guided in the horseshoe part by faces 75 and 76 (Figs.

7 and 8) for the opened-out position, and

locking can be efi'ected by means of a rotary half-spindle 77 as shown for the aforesaid constructions.

On the upper and lower faces of the recess in which each half-trail fits, there is mounted a pivot 78 (Figs. 7 and 10) in engage ment with a slide 7 9 lodged in a longitudinal groove 80 cutin the half-trail, so that the half-trial is guided in its sliding'by the roove 80 forming the sockets for the slides 9, the movement in both directions being limited by the ends of the groove.

to the road position IV indicated in chain lines on Fig. 7 the locking half-spindle 77 is first made to turn, so as to free the end of the half-trail, then the latter is made to turn around thepivots 7 8 until its lateral face abuts against the side face of the pin 82 of the corresponding guide-shoe, position II, this pin then entering the groove 81. The half-trail is then made to slide in order to bring it into position III, the bottom of the groove 80 abutting against the slides 79. At this moment the recess 83 is in front of thepin 82, so that by continuing the movement toward the interior of the trail butt, the recess 83 is made to pass on to the pin 82, thus locking the trail on to the carriage (position IV).

Thetwo half-trails being brought. into the same position, they are fastened together by a Spike before being hooked to the wagon.

What I claim is 1. A .wheeled gun carriage consisting of an axle wheel and a trail frame coupled togethe through a ball and socket joint, and trail beams pivotally mounted on thertrail frame.

2. A wheeled gun carriage comprising an axle wheel frame, a trail frame coupled thereto through a ball and socket joint, trail beams mounted on said trail frame 'to slide on said trail frame, and means carried at the rear ends of the trail beams for connection tothe fore carriage.

3. A wheeled gun carriage comprising an axle wheel frame, a trail frame, trail beams slidably and pivotally mounted on said trail frame, and means for locking the trail beams in their active and inactive positions.

4. A wheeled gun carriage comprising an axle wheel member and a trail frame, said trailframe having divergingtubular memhers, forming guides for the trail beams, sliding pieces mounted in the tubular members and provided with a pivot pin, the trail beams having longitudinal grooves in-their upper and lower faces to receive th pivots, and guide shoes mounted on the axle, each guide shoe having a spur on one side, a groove formed in'the outer side face of the corresponding trail beams and terminating in a recess to lock'the trail beams in road positions, but permitting pinning in such positions. I

5. A wheeled gun carriage comprising an axle wheel member, and a trail frame member, said trail frame provided with diverging tubular arms provided with a housing at their free ends within which trailbeams are mounted to swing and have longitudinal sliding movement, and supporting guides carried by the axle wheel member to receive the trail beams.when so slid.

6. A wheeled gun carriage comprising an axle wheel member and a trail frame'memher, said trail frame having diverging tubuiar arms, angularly disposed housings at the free ends of said arms, whereby the trail beams mounted in the arms are adapted to my hand at Saint Etienne (France) this have a sliding alnd sfivinginig ironovementl and fourth day of May 1917. means carried y t e trai eams an cooperating with the aforesaid housings to EMILE RIMAILHO' 5 limit the sliding movement of the beams In the presence of two Witnesses:

through the same. HENRI GIRON, In testimony whereof I have hereunto set SAUL SULI.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

